Cupping is a healing modality within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Though cupping dates back thousands of years, it has gained popularity in the modern times. The technique involves placing cups on the skin via local suction. Some of its benefits are listed below:

Treating pain

Loosening deep scar tissue

Releasing knots and adhesions

Resolve blood stagnation

Clear heat and toxin build up

Stimulate the channels in the back

Improve circulation

Helps general physical and psychological well-being

Cupping is among one of the best deep-tissue therapies available. Tissues several inches from the external skin are believed to be affected. This allows clearing of any blockages of Qi, helps to facilitate lymphatic circulation, and increase blood flow. There may be bruise marks left after the procedure. These marks are temporary and disappear after a few days. Cupping is an excellent alternative for those who are not comfortable getting acupuncture needles. For more information call 905 875 4114 or email info@vedalift.com

When a trigger arises, the sensory receptors on the skin travel up the spinothalamic pathway to the brain. The signals reaching the brain activate a number of structures that form the pain matrix. A response is then sent back along the spinothalamic pathway to the sensory area. Researchers believe that blocking the pain on this pathway stops the pain during acupuncture. Pain impulses are blocked from reaching the spinal cord or the brain at various ‘gates’.

Acupuncture also stimulates the brain’s production of endorphins which have similar chemical structures as opiates, and which reduce pain sensitivity.

Traditional Chinese medicine views that the body tried to keep a balance of yin and yang, and Qi and blood and when there is not enough qi or blood or when they are stuck in one area, there is imbalance of yin and yang causing the internal organs to not function optimally, leading to illness and pain. If that is the cause then bringing the body into balance eliminates pain.

Acupuncture has a profound impact on increasing blood circulation, decrease muscular contraction and decrease tissue swelling by drawing qi and blood to the affected area.

Acupuncture is a drug-free approach to pain management. The benefits and results from acupuncture as a therapy for pain are well researched and documented.Written by Sanjana Asnani R. Ac

Insomnia includes a variety of symptoms associated with sleep disturbance. It can include inability or difficulty to fall asleep, frequent waking, restlessness at night, disordered sleep cycle and dream disturbed sleep. Approximately 1 in 3 adults experience occasional or persistent sleep disturbance. It is important to sleep well and to get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation or a disruption of circadian rhythm can impair optimal daytime functioning. Your capacity to make good decisions is quite likely to be reduced from poor sleep.

Though insomnia can be physiological, a lot of the times it is also due to external or temporary changes. Once these factors are removed or addressed appropriately, sleep often returns to normal. This is where meditation comes in as a phenomenal tool. It is one of the easiest interventions that anyone can employ to help with Insomnia.

Simply put, meditation is a practice where one trains the mind to achieve stillness. There can be many different approaches or forms of meditation but the simplest is focusing on the breath in an attempt to suspend the thinking. I assure you even a 5 minute meditation will make an impact on a cellular level.

With the time pressed lives that we are living today, I am a big supporter of short snap routines to help you ground. Allow yourself to wind down gradually for at least 10 to 15 minutes before bed. Mindful breathing can help you and your thoughts settle. If your mind is still whirling, focus on your breathing, gently bringing your mind back when it wanders.

A 5 minute body scan is ideal for this time. Seek out the physical tensions from head to toe. Start at your feet and work your way up. Bend and tighten your toes and relax them. Do the same with the muscles on the upper and lower legs. Tense the muscles, holding for a moment and then relaxing. As you move up, scrunch your hands into fists, squeeze them tightly then open out your fingers and relax your hands. Once your body is relaxed, you will find that your thoughts are calmer. The mind relaxes in parallel with the body and this state of calm impacts the quality of sleep you experience. Written by Sanjana Asnani R.Ac

Tobacco smoking is one of the most common forms of substance addiction today. Inhaling the vaporized form of tobacco into the lungs is the quickest way to feel the effects of smoking. The nicotine hits the blood stream in less than a second after the first inhalation. Once in the blood stream, the gas diffuses directly into the heart and then the brain. On reaching the brain, the tobacco triggers a chemical reaction in nerve endings similar to those caused by endorphins. These chemical reactions can make a person relax quickly relieving anxiety, grief, tension or stress. While endorphins are naturally occurring and have lasting positive effects, tobacco does not. Smoking results in what is a temporary ‘high’.
With the awareness that surrounds us today, most of us know the consequences of smoking. It is said to be the leading cause of numerous diseases – lung cancer, heart attacks, COPD to name a few. As well, smoking tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in North America.
There are many tools available today to aid smoking cessation, however most will find that quitting this habit is one of the hardest things to do. This is where Acupuncture steps in and can be a wonderful aid. Acupuncture is an ancient form of healing and carries with it a time tested wisdom. It works eloquently and in total harmony with the body. It is a non-invasive method and the effects are lasting. As with any other method, yes – there may be recurrence. However, it is an alternative when other methods may have failed. And the numerous benefits are compelling to say the least.

Acupuncture can help with smoking cessation on various levels. Some are listed below:

Reducing cravings for nicotine by stimulating receptors in our brains that nicotine usually binds to.

Helping to physically reduce the smoking related toxin accumulation from the body.

Stimulate the release of endorphins that bring about a sense of well-being and happiness.

Positive effects of acupuncture on the discomforts during the withdrawal process.

Most importantly, calming the mind and reducing anxiety. The anxiety and stress are strong impulses that lead to substance abuse.

Chinese medicine offers a protocol for smoking addiction. The ideal treatment plan will include a treatment twice per week for 5 weeks. A customized plan can be made as well keeping the individual situation in mind. After the first 2-3 treatments, the smoker will be able to tell if there is a change in the taste of smoke and if it is any less desirable. Both short-term and long-term success rates are higher when using Acupuncture by itself or even alongside another therapy. Written by Sanjana Asnani R.Ac

Eye exercises are an important way to strengthen our eye muscles and to improve and preserve our sight. It is important not to over-do these exercises at the beginning, rather to gradually increase as you progress or your eyes may become very tired. Consistency is best so try to do these exercises at the same time each day, pick a convenient time. Each exercise is repeated ten times.

1. Stand facing the wall in the center of the room. Stand straight and do not move your head. Have your eyes look horizontally from wall to wall.
2. Look straight ahead, then move your eyes vertically from ceiling to floor.
3. Hold your head rigid and rotate the eyes in a wide circle at your greatest point of vision, left to right.
4. Repeat above, from right to left.
5. Hold a pencil at the full length of your arm and focus your eyes on that pencil. Then bring it slowly toward your nose, until it is flush with your face. Then move it away and again keep your eyes focused on the pencil. Toward and away is equal to one movement.
6. Focus on a close object, then an object 20 feet away. Cast your eyes slowly from one to the other.
7. Now close your eyes just as hard as you can. Open them as wide as you can. Do it slowly for 10 times, then quickly 10 times. This will help to increase the circulation of blood around your eyes. Do these exercises with your glasses off.
8. Never wash your eyes with a wash cloth. Splash cold, clear water in your eyes every night and morning. When cold water is splashed in the eyes, it stimulates circulation and gives the eyeballs a clear, brilliant effect, with a healthy glow. Include a sufficient amount of Vitamin A in your diet.

For more information on Eye Health or how plant based herbal medicine can help improve or preserve your sight contact Herbalist Patrizia Pinto, 905-875-4114 or info@vedalift.com

Finally, after several months of hibernation, the chill of winter is behind us and spring is in full swing. The ground has thawed, the flowers are blooming and the days are getting longer. It is a time of regeneration, growth and new beginnings. At the same time, these seasonal cycles that we observe in nature are also happening inside our bodies. While winter was a time to conserve energy and reduce activity, springtime inspires the urge to move forward and grow.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), each season is associated with an organ system in the body, and spring’s corresponding system is liver. It is responsible for keeping qi (our vital energy) circulating freely and smoothly throughout our bodies, cleansing our blood and filtering out toxins, and managing our emotions. When our qi is flowing well, we move through life smoothly without a buildup of toxins, stress and tension. However, when we are chronically stressed and overworked, eat a diet high in rich or processed foods, don’t take time for deep, restful sleep and are constantly exposed to chemicals and pollutants, the energy of the liver can become “stuck” and the functions in the body for which the liver is responsible are thrown off balance.

Do you have any of the following symptoms?

Fatigue

Outbursts of anger/irritability/frustration/restlessness

Depression

Mood swings

Feeling overwhelmed with stress

PMS and other hormonal imbalances

Sluggish digestion/elimination

Tension/pain in muscles and joints

Headaches

Allergies

Constipation and/or diarrhea

Skin breakouts

These are all symptoms of a pattern of disharmony in TCM, referred to as “liver qi stagnation”. So what can you do to give your liver a break, get your qi flowing and move into the season with ease?

Eat your greens! Spring is associated with the colour green, so consuming vegetables such as parsley, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, dandelion, sprouts, asparagus, and broccoli or algae like spirulina and chlorella will help to cleanse a congested liver and move qi. To support digestion, try steaming or lightly sautéing your vegetables, rather than eating them raw (which takes more of your body’s energy to break down).

Instead of your morning coffee (or at least before it) start your day with a cup of warm water with fresh lemon. Sour flavour is associated with the liver and gallbladder in Chinese Medicine and helps to get qi flowing and move toxins out of the system. Sour foods also help to stimulate the secretion of bile and digestive enzymes to aid in proper digestion.

Get outside! Fresh air, sunlight and movement invigorate stuck qi. Walking outside is a great way to relieve stress, which is a major cause of liver qi stagnation.

Try daily morning exercises that involve stretching and deep breathing. According to TCM theory, the liver works hard to filter toxins from our blood between 1-3am while we’re sleeping. Moving your body in the morning will help to activate the liver and get blood circulating again to nourish the muscles and tendons (and prevent pain, stiffness and inflammation).

Get Acupuncture to help smooth the liver and bring your body back into balance. Even a single treatment can begin to ease symptoms of stagnation because Acupuncture moves the qi circulating in the channels/meridians of the body.

Consider a “spring cleanse” to lighten the load on your liver by eliminating alcohol, caffeine, sugar, processed foods, dairy products and chemicals from your diet. Even just a week or two of lighter eating can offer enough support to get rid of the stagnation we may have accumulated during the winter so that we can move through the season feeling lighter, happier and allergy-free. Written by Stacey Hess R.Ac

Late April and early May is when liver energy is
at its peak. If you’d like to learn more about how to safely and gently
detoxify your body, ease your symptoms and re-balance with the support of
acupuncture, TCM nutrition and western herbal medicine,contact Vedalift Natural Health Clinic to schedule an appointment. 905-875-4114 info@vedalift.com

According to the Oxford dictionary, “HEALTH is the state of being free from illness or injury.” The origin comes from the old English of Germanic origin related to WHOLE. This origin of the word suggest that we have to look at the whole individual if we want to really understand someone’s health, or health issues.
Andrew Taylor Still, the person who founded Osteopathy in the mid 1800’s understood that principle. He dedicated his life to the understanding of the human body and its relation to health. His osteopathic life was about learning and researching the relations between anatomy and physiology, structure and function of the human body, and by treating people that way, helping them to come back to health.
Being healthy means that one is feeling Whole. All the parts that compose the whole are working together in harmony. A healthy person should feel physically strong, energized, in good spirits, capable to adapt to life situations, and be able to find naturally or with minimal effort his/her way back to health.

How is Health Maintained?

Your personal lifestyle is part of it, such as your diet, your physical activity and your mental state. This lifestyle affects the body’s capacity to maintain or return to health if you encounter challenges, such as traumas, surgery, repetitive stress, or environmental pollutions. Most of the time and without thinking about it – thank goodness! – your body does amazingly well and manages to keep you balanced, energized, and ready to enjoy life. Unfortunately sometimes, after accumulating too many challenges, the body struggles to do so. Then, discomfort, pain and symptoms start to arise; this state of health starts to be compromised.
Osteopathy is a manual therapy that aims to restore this self-healing, self-regulating mechanism that keep your body healthy or by definition, free from any illness or injury. Osteopathic Manual Practioners are extensively trained in anatomy, physiology, embryology, biomechanics, orthopaedics, and neurology to treat the cause of your symptoms. In Osteopathy, we look at you as a whole unique individual. By using gentle, precise manipulations of the tissues, we check and help to restore their optimal function and relationships. Most of the time, people come to Osteopathy because of one major complaint. As they improve, they also realize that some secondary tensions are progressively disappearing, they globally feel better. This is what happens when YOUR HEALTH is taking care of You. The Whole that you represent is getting better.
Osteopathy has been evolving since its first steps, and its diversity to treat different conditions is growing. You may come across different types of Osteopathy such as structural osteopathy, visceral osteopathy, cranial osteopathy. In its origin, there is no such thing as different types of Osteopathy. These different adjectives are parts of osteopathy, altogether they represent the Whole Osteopathic Medicine which enables the practitioner to treat a large variety of illnesses.
Osteopathy is indicated for the whole family from babies to elderly. It can help you for musculoskeletal problems, sports injuries, digestive issues, pregnancy related conditions and much more.

We are excited to offer a large selection of custom herbal formulae including teas, tinctures, and salves.VedaLift Natural Health Clinic & Herbal DispensaryTM is a daily resource for inspiration, information and services for healthy living, Naturally.
Taking steps together – A Shared Journey towards your optimal health and well-being.